Finding Carli
by xmayniacx
Summary: Carli Aliyah Phoenix is missing. Not 100% NCIS fanfiction since it was an English project but there were so many references lol. Just read the A/N


Pairings: Tony/Kate, Jenny/Gibbs

A/N: Ok so this is my English project where we had to write a short story. I honestly didn't even realize how much NCIS references I had put in here! Haha that's also the reason why only a few characters are mentioned. Enjoy? Lol. R&R please (: 

The sun shone brightly into the Phoenix household. It was a nice quiet, warm, July day, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. There was a calming atmosphere about the house.

_Clang!_

The noise jolted sixteen year old Todd Phoenix from his peaceful sleep. He groggily brushed his shaggy brown hair out of his green eyes, before making his way to the kitchen.

"Carli Aliyah Phoenix! What are you doing!" he exclaimed.

The once spotless floor was now a covered mess. Frozen waffles, napkins, puddles of maple syrup and butter littered every square inch of the Phoenix kitchen. A broken plate lay beside Carli, its jagged edges poking dangerously up to the ceiling. Todd shook his head at the scene in front of him.

"Bwefeh!" Carli exclaimed, her brown eyes sparkling with delight. She brushed through her now sticky dark brown hair, smiling up at her brother.

By then, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix had woken up. The kitchen was a sight. Carli, along with just about every piece of furniture in the kitchen, were covered in maple syrup, the stainless steel refrigerator proudly boasting a large amount of sticky handprints. Carli's once pink and white pajamas were now a sickly brown color.

"Oh, Carli, what are we going to do with you?" asked Mrs. Phoenix, picking up the toddler and exiting the kitchen, leaving poor Mr. Phoenix and Todd to clean up the mess. Once the kitchen was clean, Mr. Phoenix went on to make the family a _real _breakfast. He made them pancakes, eggs, and sausage; the waffles were completely ruined, soggy and inedible. About ten minutes later, Mrs. Phoenix arrived with Carli, who was now clean as a whistle. She wore a light blue spaghetti strap top with a pair of white shorts. Her once sticky brown hair was now clipped to the side with a pretty blue bow.

"Pan pan!" she piped, smelling the delicious food. The family began having their breakfast, enjoying the food Mr. Phoenix had cooked for them. Today, they were all going to Six Flags for the Phoenix Family Fun Day, as Mr. Phoenix liked to call it. Once everyone was finished with breakfast, they all went on to get dressed. They piled into their Mercedes SUV and headed off.

Music and laughter filled the sunny amusement park. Carli excitedly jumped out of the car and nearly took off before Todd managed to quickly stop her.

"Don't run off on us, Car-bar," he warned. "Mommy and Daddy won't like it."

Carli nodded her head in understanding, tightening her grip on Todd's hand. The four of them walked to the entrance, getting their wristbands and paying for the parking. Soon enough, the smell of popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy, and pizza assaulted their noses.

"Hunee!" exclaimed Carli, looking up at Mr. Phoenix.  
"Not now, kiddo. We just got here, and breakfast was only an hour

ago. Besides, you don't want to get sick on the rides, you?" he reminded her.

She shook her head no, completely dropping the subject. Todd and Carli walked hand-in-hand over to the game stall, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix following behind. Todd managed to win Carli a pink stuffed elephant, who she proudly named Ellie. They rode tons of rides, ranging from bumper cars to small roller coasters. They also rode the huge Ferris wheel too. It was now 2:30 and the whole family was pretty hungry by now. Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix went to the food stands to buy the family lunch, while Carli and Todd sat at the picnic table. Todd sat texting away, not really paying much attention to his now very intrigued sister. Carli spotted a tall man, blonde hair, maybe late 30's walking around in a very colorful costume, giving out multiple colored balloons. She _had_ to have one! But oh no, he was leaving! He was getting smaller and smaller, walking farther and farther away from their table.

Carli quickly got up and followed after him, running as fast as her little legs could carry her; she was only three after all. She managed to catch up with him, but they were very far away from where Todd and mommy and daddy were. She received her bright pink balloon, but her mommy and daddy were now nowhere in sight. Panic began to settle in, she couldn't see them anywhere! She ran through the crowd, dodging out of many adults' ways, scanning throughout the unfamiliar faces, looking for any of her family.

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix had returned with everybody's lunch. Immediately, a worried look caught Mrs. Phoenix's face once she realized Carli was missing from the table. She all but dropped the trays onto the table, as she began scanning the hundreds of people in the park.

"Where's Carli!" she exclaimed, tears beginning to form in her hazel eyes.

Todd put down his cell phone, looking around the crowded amusement park, frantically. How could he have been so dumb in letting his three year old sister out of his sight? His parents were going to kill him. Grounded. Yep, he was definitely going to be grounded for a long time.

"Um, I don't know. She was right here a few seconds ago, I swear!" he cried, his eyes scanning the crowd a crazy pace.

"Carli!" Mr. Phoenix called out. The little girl was nowhere to be seen. This was bad. What if someone took her? Just took her right out of the park? The thought haunted all of their minds.

"Alright, we need to split up and find her. We'll call each other if we see her, ok?" explained Mr. Phoenix as the three of them split up. Todd ran frantically through the crowd, showing as many people as he could the most recent picture of Carli. They had to find her, and they had to find her fast.

Carli wandered mindlessly through the park, clutching her pink balloon. A rowdy group of teenagers rushed by, nearly knocking her over. Luckily, an older couple who had been visiting with their grandson had spotted the toddler and realized she was in trouble. They went over to her, the woman bending so she was at eye level with the lost girl.

"Hello, where are your parents?" she asked gently.

"I dunno…I lost," Carli sniffled.

"Do you know what their names are and what they look like?" the older gentleman had asked.

"Anthony Phoenix is my daddy. He's tall, has pikey dirty blonde hair, gween eyes, and a big smile," she explained. The sniffles were starting to go away, but she still had a few here and there.

"What about your mommy?" the woman asked.

"Caitlin Phoenix. Shorter than daddy, yellowish eyes, I think she called them hazel, brown hair like me. Weally pwetty," she said. She also went and opened the locket that she was wearing and showed the trio a picture of the four of them from last year's Christmas photo.

"Well then, come along, Ms. Phoenix, let's go and find your mommy and daddy," said the gentleman, gently taking Carli's hand.

"Carli. I'm Carli," she corrected.

"Carli,then. By the way, I'm Mr. Evans and this here's Mrs. Evans. This is Ben, our grandson. He's only four. But you can call us Lee and Jenny," explained Mr. Evans.

Todd continued searching frantically for his sister, running through the crowd, earning a few scornful looks and remarks. Just when he was about to lose hope, he spotted a small girl, with a light blue top and white shorts. She had a pink balloon tied to her right wrist, and the pink elephant he had won her in her left arm. An older gentleman was holding her right hand gently, and they seemed to be engaged in an interesting conversation. Beside them, an older woman, who Todd assumed was his wife, was holding the hand of a young blonde boy, who looked to be four or so. It was Carli! He had found her!

"Carli!" he called, running over to them

Carli turned around and saw Todd making a bee line straight towards them. Her face lit up at seeing her big brother. She yanked out of Mr. Evans grip and dashed towards Todd. The Evans as well as little Ben, turned around to see Todd excitedly scooping the girl up, recognizing him as her brother.

"Thank you so much for finding her!" he exclaimed, shaking Mr. Evans hand appreciatively.

"Not a problem. We're just glad she's been found. Take care now!" said Mr. Evans, as he, Mrs. Evans, and Ben waked the other way.

Todd quickly called their parents, telling them he'd found Carli, and met up with them at the car. It was now 5:30pm and Carli was getting very tired. She'd had a very long and interesting day.

"Oh Carli, we are so glad we found you! We love you so much!" exclaimed both Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix. The rest of the ride home was relatively quiet since both Todd and Carli had fallen asleep. Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix just smiled at each other, knowing it would definitely be a day neither of them would forget.

The End


End file.
